ADR3-N's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[G2961 - Geometric Theory (Neon Skies Remix)]

First of all, grats on frontpage. Secondly, the cover is not bad :)

Thirdly, that first drop sound pretty wizzer.

I would probably back off the volume of your pianos outside the drops. They sound extremely OTTed and up in the mix to the degree that it's hard to hear the bass and kick outside of drops.

On drops, the sidechain is enough that your perc is cutting through fine, but watch that your percs are clearly audible through sections.

Key-change was nice.

This takes me back to the old days of GD tracks. Driving, high energy, nice recession music :)

Overall, pretty nice, clean, and very much a style still in demand. Great work!

NEON-SKIES responds:

G2961 did way better...I know it's over for me :(
I'm still proud of myself!

[Can't Do Shit - Remix]

Such an interesting remix, and a great interpretation of the track as a whole.

The lead vocal mix is not entirely ideal, but it works. It sounds a bit like a live broadway/musical performance. If I had the opportunity to touch the vocals myself, I would probably de-ess them manually, compress more uniformly, and apply a bit of EQ to situate them in the mix more. At present, they sound a bit thin in the lower range, and crispy up top. Since the vocals are in the low mid range, fattening up the bottom may have lended to a bit thicker, lusher sound.

The sampled vocals from CrimsonKero's track were handled well by comparison, even if at times they hid a bit down in the mix.

My favorite part of this mix is your sampled/synth guitars. Those are some juicy chords, and the style is well done.

Your synth instruments are also well handled. Though I would recommend some less obviously synthetic libraries for your synths. The articulations are quite telling and lend to a cheaper feel.

Your intro (sounds like hammered) dulcimer also could come down in the mix.

I may also have applied a gentle hi-pass as you introduced the vocals at 48 seconds.

But in any case, this combines many influences in a satisfactory method. It almost sounds as if Ramses from the Moses movie meets 90's racing games, and I love that.

[A+B : Can't Do Shit]

I thought this deserved a review, because it's pure vibes. It gets stuck in your head if you aren't careful, even if I have minor gripes about pitching up distorted guitar samples and how it sounds as a metal producer.

One tip for that -- you notice how when you rolled off the high end, the pitched powerchords laid better in the mix? Let me explain why that happens in two words -- nyquist frequencies.

They are a problem I encounter a lot when making sample instruments from less than ideal sources.

If you must pitch upward, not downward, and your sample has a lot of fizz to it, like an amped guitar, rolling off those highs with a slight notch right before your shelf will work wonders to keep those samples sounding pretty!

Anonymous-Frog responds:

I made this in late 2023 and struggled to fix it for a whole year after that (mainly reverb).

[🌱 Rooves are pretty high]

I see what Jotrocken is saying. There are quite a few nice things going on here with this style. It takes me back to the old days of tower defense mobile games and pre-GameCube era games simultaneously. It is pleasantly minimal, and straightforward.

I do think that a bit more polish could have been applied to instruments in the lower register, namely to give them more presence and less reverb. It feels like the low strings are resting predominantly in the left channel, and it's quite hard to pick out the low pizzicatos/sustains from one another.

The low clean guitar is a nice choice but ends up sounding a bit like a drum in that range.

The master volume is also quiet. I recommend if you'd like to keep this level of compression to use Audacity's amplify feature to get the most volume you can out of the track.

One thing I had trouble understanding was the hip-hop percussion overlaid atop the beat, seemingly contrasting the dark, moody instrumental. While it suits the PvZ era instrumentation, it contrasts the feel somewhat of the instruments used. I wonder what could be done to otherwise keep these elements and arrangement while maintaining the space and vibe of the instrumental.

Anyway, cheers for getting this together in a few days. It often takes me weeks to finish a project with all of my distractions and obligations. Extra half star for sticking it out and getting it done! Hats off to you!

[AMATEUR - StixDevs [REMIX]]

Super downtempo remix -- so atmospherically and dynamically opposed to the original that it can hardly be recognized but for the vocal sample, which has been reduced to an almost percussive/aleatoric effect.

I would say this is a cross between downtempo, trap, and dubstep.

It's interesting to hear some of these samples I made back in 2020 in a different context as well.

The "paulstretch" approach to the adlibs and vocals also is quite unique and very tastefully done. I would not have even realized the vocals had been used for pads and other textures, had you not mentioned it.

I have only one minor critique -- I wish the snare were just a bit brighter, and the supersaws just a hair darker. Downtempo trap does love its bright, verby snares, and shelving the saws with a gentle roll off around 12k or so would lend to the melancholic atmosphere.

KI1 responds:

When it comes to remixes, lately I've been enjoying seeing how much I can change while still basing enough of it off the original. Much different to the old way I used to remix - just remake the original with my own instruments and not a lot else.

Paulstretch blew my mind when I first saw it applied to a Justin Bieber song in 2010. Luckily FL has a few different ways of getting the same sound, so I like to sneak it in when I can. Even the most unlikely sounds can turn out pretty nice.

Critique well received; I did struggle with the snare for a while - I've never made music in a genre where the snare is such a focus. 12k roll off for the saws is a good idea, I think I may have over boosted the higher end in compression AND post-EQ 🤔

[D.N.R.]

Sounds like a horror score. I see a future for you in videogame composing.

[Frank Lake]

This is pretty insane! The fact that the entire track, ambient textures, and all of that warbling is just glorified guitar samples.

Even though this isn't my particular genre of choice, I find studying it from a sonic perspective to be interesting.

2:44 is surreal. The tape stop effects you're doing... in audacity. Sometimes I find myself thinking, what sorcery is this?!

JimmyTheCaterpillar responds:

audacity has the tools to make an acoustic sound like anything!!!!! i am such a believer. a lot of how i get the ball rolling is just pasting two copies of the same clip on top of one another and then tweaking them individually, cutting and stripping as i go -- letting things play off each other and kinda grow from the rest of the larger recording. i think the way i make this stuff is like how a snake eats itself.

it's good to see you! thank you so much for taking the time to listen to my work :) i'm trying to push hard with it this summer.

[Who do you think you are?]

Shocked that this has virtually no listens or comments. The vocal performance, writing, and vocoder are absolutely standout. 1:25 is also an excellent verse, particularly the sound design elements. I'm not well versed in genres, but the melodic, harmonic, and rhymic structure are pure groove.

I think the compression on the master may be blowing out the sub, and the snare could use a bit more crisp, but this is otherwise top notch.

Excellent work

Southwest-Statistic responds:

Thanks!

[Words]

A well deserved frontpage. I would say this is djent and pop punk's lovechild. Great work!

[Fairy Tale (DEMO)]

The memories -- this was the top song on my old playlist. Happy 20 year anniversary!

I would love to hear about how this and your other older catalog were made. They're gorgeous and stand up to this day.